Stationery receptacle



g- 15, 1966 D. L. MOORE ETAL STATIONERY RECEPTACLE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed June 15, 1964 INVENTORS. 00/1/1110 1. M00?! new! I. I'll V051? 6, 1966 D. 1.. MOORE ETAL, 3,266,860

STATIONERY RECEPTACLE Filed June 15, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,266,860 STATIONERY RECEPTACLE Donald L. Moore and Orville E. Snyder, Gallatin, Tenn., assignors to Hamilton Cosco, Inc., Columbus, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Filed June 15, 1964, 'Ser. N 0. 374,975 4 Claims. (Cl. 312350) This invention relates to a receptacle, and more particularly to a stationery receptacle. for holding letterheads, envelopes, and the like.

It is an object of the invention to provide a stationery receptacle which will provide a plurality of stationery storage compartments, which can be adjusted to vary the size of said compartments, and which will store stationery materials in a readily accessible position. It is a further object of the invention to provide a stationery receptacle of attractive appearance, which can be economically manufactured from inexpensive sheet-metal, and which can be mounted in a desk drawer.

In accordance with the preferred form of the invention there is provided a receptacle having a pair of end walls interconnected "by back, top, bottom, and front walls. The top and front walls are spaced from the receptacle front and top, respectively, to provide an enlarged access opening adjacent the upper forward end of the receptacle. A plurality of inclined, vertically spaced, parallel inserts abut the back wall to provide a plurality of vertically spaced storage compartments. Conveniently, the back wall angles rearwardly and the inserts are of the same size so that the front edge of each of said inserts is disposed forwardly of the front edge of the next higher insert. Means are provided on the end walls to slidably support the inserts in the receptacle in parallelism with each other and to permit said inserts to be selectively removed for varying the sizes of the compartments formed thereby. Means also project upwardly from the bottom wall rearwardly of the front wall to define a transversely extending, upwardly open channel for the storage of envelopes and the like.

Other objects and features of the invention will hecome apparent from the more detailed description which follows and from the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a stationery receptacle embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an end elevation of the receptacle shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the receptacle shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section taken on the line 44 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on the line 55 of FIG. 2.

Conveniently, the receptacle can be formed entirely of sheet-metal. As shown in the drawings, it comprises a pair of opposed end panels constituting the receptacle end walls and provided with outwardly projecting peripheral flanges 12. A vertically extending cover having a generally L-shaped cross-section connects the upper rearward portions of the panels 10. Said cover comprises a vertically extending stretch 14 joined to the panel flanges 12 at the rear of the receptacle and a horizontally extending stretch 16 connected to said flanges along the top of the receptacle. As shown in FIG. 3, the cover stretch 16 terminates rearwardly of the front of the receptacle and is provided with a cutout 17 intermediate its length. The lower forward portions of the end panels 10 are interconnected by an upwardly open channelled member having a front leg 18 constituting the front receptacle wall and integrally connected to a second leg 20 by a bight 22 forming the forward portion of the receptacle bottom wall. As shown, the opposed ends of 3,266,850 Patented August 16, 1966 the bight 22 project laterally outwardly to underlie. the end panel flanges 12 and are rigidly connected thereto.

A support is carried between the end panels 10 and is provided with a leg 24 disposed forwardly of the cover stretch 16 and joined to the channel leg 20 in parallelism with the leg 18. As shown in FIG. 4, the legs 18 and 24 act in combination with the bight 22 to define a transversely extending, upwardly open channel of substantial depth at the front of the receptacle for the storage of envelopes or the like.

The upper end of the support leg 24 is integrally joined to a downwardly and rearwardly projecting floor 26 forming the bottom wall of the rearward portion of the receptacle. The floor 26 is integrally joined to the lower end of a rearwardly angled wall 28 normal to the floor 26. The upper end of the wall 26 is joined to the cover stretch 14 and, together with said stretch, forms the back wall of the receptacle. Each of the end panels 10 has a plurality of inwardly struck louvers 30 forming supports for slidably supporting a plurality of vertically spaced planar inserts 32. The offsets 30 are formed in a manner to disposed the inserts in parallelism with each other and with the floor 26 to cause said inserts and the floor 26 to define a plurality of transversely extending compartments within the receptacle for holding letterheads and the like. Each of the inserts 32 is identical in construction and size and is provided with a cutout 34 intermediate its front edge in alignment with the cutout 17. The inserts 32 abut the rear wall 28, and since the inserts are of the same size, the front edge of each insert will be disposed slightly forwardly of the front edge of the next higher insert whereby the materials stored in the compartments will be in positions of ready access. As shown in FIG. 4, the front edge of the uppermost insert is disposed forwardly of the cover stretch 16, and the front edge of the lowermost insert is disposed rearwardly of the front edge. of the floor 26 to facilitate access to the uppermost and lowermost compartments. With the inserts being slidably supported on the offsets 30, they can be selectively removed from the receptacle for adjusting the vertical depth of each of the several compartments.

Conveniently, the lateral spacing between the end panels 10 is sufiicient such that legal size paper may be stored in the compartments formed by the inserts 32. In order to adjust the length of said compartments for the storage of smaller materials such as letterheads or the like, a plurality of aligned, forwardly angled openings 36 are formed in the inserts 32, cover stretch 16, and support floor 26. Said openings are adapted to selectively receive an elongated rod 38 which will thus confine the material stored in said compartments toward one end of the receptacle. Desirably, the openings 36 in the cover stretch 16 are offset downwardly to provide recessed seats 40 for the reception of the head 42 on the rod 38. Conveniently, two sets of the. openings 36 are employed so that the receptacle may be placed in a drawer in either the right-hand or the left-hand side of the desk and the materials stored in the compartments will be confined toward the forward end of the drawer.

Desirably, the front wall 18 and the cover stretch 14 are provided with outwardly projecting lips 44 which dan be received on a pair of opposed walls of a desk drawer for supporting the receptacle therein. Openings 48 may also be provided in the end panel flanges 12, bight 22, and cover stretch 14 for the reception of screws or the like for rigidly connecting the receptacle to the drawer in which it is received.

We claim:

1. A stationery receptacle, comprising a pair of end panels, a transversely extending channel interconnecting said end panels at their lower forward ends, a cover interconnecting said end panels at their upper rearward ends, the forward edge of said cover being rearward of said channel, a support member connected to said channel and cover and having an inclined floor and back wall angling rearwardly from bottom to top, a plurality of vertically spaced planar inserts of the same size abutting the back wall of said support member, and means on said end panels for slidably supporting said inserts in parallelism with each other and said floor with the forward edge of each insert disposed forwardly of the forward edge of the next higher insert.

2. A stationery receptacle as set forth in claim 1 in which said cover and inserts are provided with pluralities of transversely spaced, aligned openings, and an elongated rod is selectively and movably received in said openings.

3. A stationery receptacle as set forth in claim 2 in which the openings in said cover are formed in recessed mounting seats and said rod has an expanded head adapted to be received in said mounting seats.

4. A stationery receptacle as set forth in claim 1 in which said channel and cover have vertical stretches provided with outwardly projecting lips adapted to be received over a pair of opposed walls on a desk drawer.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Examiner.

F. DOMOTOR, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A STATIONERY RECEPTACLE, COMPRISING A PAIR OF END PANELS, A TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING CHANNEL INTERCONNECTING SAID END PANELS AT THEIR LOWER FORWARD ENDS, A COVER INTERCONNECTING SAID END PANELS AT THEIR UPPER REARWARD ENDS, THE FORWARD EDGE OF SAID COVER BEING REARWARD OF SAID CHANNEL, A SUPPORT MEMBER CONNECTED TO SAID CHANNEL AND COVER AND HAVING AN INCLINED FLOOR AND BACK WALL ANGLING REARWARDLY FROM BOTTOM TO TOP, A PLURALITY OF VERTICALLY SPACED PLANER INSERTS OF THE SAME SIZE ABUTTING THE BACK WALL PANELS FOR SLIDABLY SUPPORTING SAID MEANS ON SAID END PANELS FOR SLIDABLY SUPPORTING SAID INSERTS IN PARALLELISM WITH EACH OTHER AND SAID FLOOR WITH THE FORWARD EDGE OF EACH INSERT DISPOSED FORWARDLY OF THE FORWARD EDGE OF THE NEXT HIGHER INSERT. 